Ice, Ice Everywhere

Yes, the University of Arkansas has been closed for several days now and we will continue to be closed tomorrow, Friday, January 30. On Monday it started with a light precipitation. This continued into a full blown ice storm. I have not seen anything like this since I have lived here - 14 years now. I have never seen the University close like this either.

Most of Fayetteville has no electricity. At my house, I have no power. Thankfully we do have a wood burning fireplace and a gas stove top. However, with a four-year old little boy in the house, not have power gets tough very quickly. Today we came into the office to enjoy lights, heat, and to let him watch a DVD on the computer. This also allows me a chance to let you all know what is going on.

The roads are no longer slick. That is not the problem. The problem is that there are trees down everywhere. Roads are blocked, cars and homes were damaged by falling trees.

Yesterday, we loaded the kids into the car and went driving around. We have been without power since Tuesday at 1:00. It is now Thursday. Most of town is closed. At the few gas stations that had power, there were long lines of cars trying to fill up. We had a very difficult time finding a store that was open. It is truly something I have never seen.

I have attached some pictures of the ice storm. These were taken right outside our bulding. I will take more on my way home and will share those next time. Check out Dave's blog. He posted pictures, too.

Obviously we will have to extend some application deadlines since we have been out of the office since Monday. Be patient with us while we work our way out of this storm. If you have any questions, email rcsmith@walton.uark.edu. I can monitor this email account better from home. Thank goodness for technology.